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[DinofarmGames]

Subject is a joke, meant to make a point.  I wrote an article about the irony of all these big developers having these multi-million dollar success kickstarter campaigns, yet small indies are often met with anger for even attempting them. What do you think?

http://www.dinofarmgames.com/?p=949

[Theophilus]

so.. you're mad because you didn't get $15000 for your game, while Double Fine and Wasteland 2 got millions?

[deathtotheweird]

what happened to the days before Kickstarter? it appears that these days indies are using it as a bit of a crutch. hundreds of fantastic indie games were made without Kickstarter, why should it matter if Kickstarter is flooded with larger games? would that mean less indie games would be made? I certainly don't think so.

I understand your concern, but I really don't think it's a problem. besides, it's not like there's a finite amount of money or Kickstarter's in the world. there's plenty of room for everybody.

oh and you should do away with the sarcastic negative remarks, it makes you sound a bit immature and jealous. and I know you aren't.

and thatshelby if you can't come up with an intelligent response, shut the fuck up.

[Theophilus]

I'm just trying to figure out the problem.

[DinofarmGames]

>so.. you're mad because you didn't get $15000 for your game, while Double Fine and Wasteland 2 got millions?

I wish you had read the article, because I was pretty explicitly *not* saying that.

>it appears that these days indies are using it as a bit of a crutch.

Before kickstarter, less indies were able to make their games.  The promise of kickstarter is that more independent artists get to make their art.

[Dragonmaw]

When are you going to post here instead of just linking to your articles and using this as another place to pimp your blog?

Moving to Business.

[Capntastic]

There's a lot to be said for throwing your money in with a proven developer compared to, say, someone who's developed a rep for adding showstopper bugs to their game every other release.

[deathtotheweird]

I'm just trying to figure out the problem.

read the article you fucking idiot.

Before kickstarter, less indies were able to make their games.  The promise of kickstarter is that more independent artists get to make their art.

yeah, but is there really any statistics on that? I mean, how would one be certain their game would *not* be made if they didn't have a Kickstarter?

if someone was really dedicated to their project, they would do it at any cost. wouldn't they? are you doing all you can to make your game that failed to get funding in Kickstarter? how's that going for you? it seems like, though harder, your game is still getting done.

[noah!]

So have you ever watched like some really old porn, the kind they made back in the 80s when the stuff was sold in adult bookstores that littered the highways with a semi always parked outside? It's some pretty neat stuff. Like the girl will be waiting inside her home, big hair, tight blouse, all sultry looking and I can't remember if the tan was in style but then a guy would show up. He's usually a plumber or whatnot and the lady rushes up to the door and they talk for a little bit, usually a few minutes or so. Then there's something about pipes and then the lady leads him back to the bathroom and he spends the next few hours cleaning out the buildup in the sink and we get to see it all in full detail. But he's done and once he finishes he mutters something about "the other pipes" and then she gasps and the tape ends. Turns out it's part one of three and your boner is shot.

Anyway, I took the liberty of procuring your Kickstarter page and watching the video and that's exactly how the video felt. I don't really care about all that backstory, I don't want to hear Old Man talk for hours, I wanna see what this thing is all about. If this were any other thing, I would've shut the video off after the first minute or so but for you I stuck around. Concept art, OK, some sprites, OK I guess. Why is the dude talking about the staff. He's giving me a tutorial but no actual gameplay to pair it to. More concept art. TWO MINUTES AND I STILL DON'T KNOW HOW THE GAME PLAYS. At least the sprites look nice.

Anyway watching, watching, finally gameplay and then that thing with the ice spell came on and I went all COOL THIS IS WHAT I WANT. But by then it was already three minutes into the video. Three minutes. That's like long enough to contract gaming prostate cancer. Flaccidity is your destiny.

Look, yes it might not be fair that reputation alone can back a game. But don't let that one door be the only thing you focus on! You still gotta look nice, you still gotta shave up those rough bits. If I don't know about you, I'm not gonna care, and it's up to you to make me care in the limited amount of time you have before I get bored. Gimme some hardcore close-ups of that tight gameplay! Launch a thick, creamy load of tactics right into the player's mouth! Ron Jeremy taught me what it means to be a man, and now it's time for you to teach me what it means to be a gamer.

(but whatever, I have no reason to give criticism, since I'm making an inferior-looking game and all...)

[DinofarmGames]

Noah!  Thanks for your great feedback on the video.  I completely agree with it, and like I said in the article, we take full responsibility for the failure of the Kickstarter.

>Look, yes it might not be fair that reputation alone can back a game.

Actually, this isn't what the article was about, at all. =[

[noah!]

>Look, yes it might not be fair that reputation alone can back a game.

Actually, this isn't what the article was about, at all. =[

Yeah, it's about the double standard and paradoxical nature of Kickstarter and stuff. I got that, apparently my fingers did not get that. Though even then, I'm not sure what word I should have used. "Legitimacy" carries its own sort of connotations, "star power" is a step backward...

Maybe just disregard that phrase and mentally fill in the image of a well-coiffed white man smiling in front of a desk, button-down shirt, arms folded, glass windows in the background and the city skyline receding into the vantage point.

[Blademasterbobo]

i'm not even going to bother reading that, because there's an extremely obvious flaw right in your stupid headline.

look at double fine, and then look at ea. now let us see if you can spot the major difference

ill give you a hint

one is a publisher

one

is






not











 

[Radix]

There's nothing to stop them trying it, though. They wouldn't even need the money, it's just that once something becomes trendy enough to abuse for marketing purposes there's practically no reason not to do so if you're already a giant seeping arsehole.

I didn't read the blog post and don't really give a shit but this caught my eye cause I said the same thing to someone recently. It won't be a surprise if it happens.

[___]

perhaps try to answer the "$15,000?! WHAT THE FUCK!!??!" question before it gets asked -- explain where the money goes and why you need it. a simple "making games takes time and energy, and we're willing to live between bowls of ramen because we want to entertain you" usually does the trick.

Yeah, whenever I look at any Kickstarter I have two major questions up front.  Who are the people behind it, and what are they using the money for?  If there is a detailed budget sitting right there that's like "We'll be working on this full time!  So X amount of this budget goes toward ________, Y amount will go toward __________" then I already have a lot more confidence in the project.  If the people behind the project appear in the video, and just explain what the project is totally honestly, then I'm even more likely to back it.  I feel like a big part of Double Fine's amazing kickstarter success is that everyone fucking loves Tim Schafer.  Dude has like 999 charisma.  Combine that with people's longing for adventure games and I guess you have 3 million dollars!

 

Anywhoo, I don't see why peoples is bein' so mean in this thread, I thought the article was fine and I chuckled at the headline.  I'd be interested to see more examples of the attitude difference on kickstarter projects after reading this.

[Capntastic]

There's nothing to stop them trying it, though.

It's important to note that Kickstarter rejects projects that are shady, dumb, or generally undeserving.  Were EA or similar industry titan to try to crowdsource their capital, I'm certain KS would simply decline them.

[Radix]

It's important to note that Kickstarter rejects projects that are shady,

Sure, if it's blatant. There are credit card companies involved after all.

dumb, or generally undeserving.

Nnnnope. They take a 5% commission and another 3-5% in fees, and explicitly "don't screen for taste".

Case in point.

[ANtY]

so.. you're mad because you didn't get $15000 for your game, while Double Fine and Wasteland 2 got millions?

why saying it like it's something inappropriate?

[DinofarmGames]

The way EA *could* possibly do it is by having an individual from the company (and by the way, I should have said EA Sports, the developer) do some personal video on a webcam and talk about how madden 13 is the game he's always wanted to make but the darn bosses never let him.  Of course, they're all completely in on it etc, and will make money from the sales.  I dnuno;  this may actually qualify as some sort of fraud, and I realize that it's a long shot, but it's possible!

[Oddball]

The facts actually suggest that the more 'big name' projects there are then the more money smaller projects get. They bring in more first-time backers who then browse other projects increasing the overall pledge rate.

Source - http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/blockbuster-effects

[Rob Lach]

I would love if EA games had kickstarters. It'd bring in more of the mainstream crowd to kickstarter and if they failed to bring what they promise even more jaded gamers might start looking at indie stuff.